Last Saturday, I had the opportunity to go to the Botanic Gardens. Although it was my second time there, I had not yet had a guided tour of the gardens. So there was a lot that I learned. For instance, I had not even realized that there were banana plants right next to the welcome center until they were pointed out to me. I also learned about, and got to see, a unique evergreen–the only species like it–that has leaves instead of needles. When I had gone to the gardens before, I walked right past that tree, never realizing that there was anything special about it. Another facet that stood out to me was the lightning rods. In order to prevent the tall trees in the area from being struck by lightning–and potentially killed as a result–lightning rods had been installed at the tops of them. As I could not see the tops of these trees, I did not realize that these lightning rods were there until someone pointed out that there was a metal wire–to ground the lightning that hits the rod–running down the side of one of these trees. I found that to be such an intriguing idea.

I found the winter garden to be really interesting. When I had first gone to the Botanic Gardens, I had noticed that there was an area called the “Winter Garden,” and I was a little confused by the concept. It just looked like a bunch of trees to me. However these trees, being evergreens, along with the red berries on the trees, add color to the generally colorless winter environment. After learning more about it, I actually think that it is a pretty cool concept. I would like to visit during the winter to see what it looks like during the time it is designed to be viewed.